Ferri, Barcelona

Ferri – Restauratuer, Interior Designer and Teacher

We visit Ferri in Barcelona at ViraVolta where she is sharing her passion for vintage furniture with her friends Marta and Quel. We discuss her background as a teacher for people with special needs, her attraction to old things and the challenge of splitting her time between two passions.

Ferri, what is your dream?

I don’t know exactly if I have a dream, but I know I am trying to live the moment. At the moment I love to work with vintage furniture. I really love to work with my hands, so I can explore my creativity. It is relaxation for me as well. So, I like to work with everything that involves old vintage furniture, especially searching for special pieces and refurbishing them. I really fall in love when I visit a flat to meet people who have old furniture. Also, I am a teacher for people with special needs and I love it, too. It is very creative as well.

When did you realize your passion for furniture and “hands-on” work?

When I was a child I wanted to be a archeologist, but my mother said: “No, you can’t become a archeologist.” So in a way I always felt this attraction to old things, especially to old furniture. So when I moved to Barcelona, I realized that I possibly could work with vintage furniture here, because in Barcelona, there a special days when people throw their unwanted furniture out on the streets. So when I discovered that, I started to pick up things and stored them in my flat. But it was kind of crazy, because my flat wasn’t that big and I couldn’t store all the beautiful pieces there.

What do you like about your job as a teacher for people with special needs?

I like to work with children with special needs, because it is very fulfilling. They are very nice and they are kind of “pure”. It is so good if you see the progress they make. Often it takes a very long time, but when you see the progress they are making, it is like a WOW moment.

What was your happiest moment?

I think I was happiest, when I realized that I can do both things in my life, teaching and working with vintage furniture. And it makes me very happy, when I see that everything is working out fine. It’s that feeling when you achieve both.

Was there a time that was very challenging for you?

It is very challenging everyday, as I have to share and split my time and my mind between two jobs. And as I love both, teaching and working with vintage furniture, I don’t want to neglect any work. When I am at school I want to be ‘all of mine’ and when I am at ViraVolta, where I work with vintage furniture, I want to focus on my work there. So sometimes it is difficult, because when I am at school I think of “ViraVolta” and the other way around.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I think I would say: “You have to trust in you!” Don’t think everything is difficult. It mean it is difficult, for sure, but things will pass. Some times you will pass better, some time worse, but you will pass every step and every mountain, for sure.